Green manuring is a way of creating an organic fertilizer by growing a crop that is mowed down. Besides the fertilizing effect this method has been shown to have a positive influ-ence on soil organic matter as well as weed flora, and green manure is an important me-thod of weed control in organic farming in parts of Sweden. However, the release of nu-trients from the green manure varies and can therefore be difficult to control. Risks for losses of nutrients are also present. Although the area of organic farmland is increasing in Sweden, the use of green manure is decreasing.This report contains a literature study which compiles research on the functions of green manure in a cropping system and also how the crop can be used if harvested, for example to produce biogas.

The purpose of this thesis was to examine how locally produced bioenergy may contribute to meet the climate target year 2050 in the municipality of Uppsala. The goal of reduced GHG-emissions from current 6,8 ton CO2-equivalents to 0,5 ton CO2-equivalents per capita and year, year 2050 is based on avoiding harmful penalties of an increased level of GHG in the atmosphere. By estimating available biomass in the county together with examining future technologies and emission factors for the substrates used, four possible future scenarios has been developed focusing either on electricity generation or production of biofuels. GHG-emissions of year 2050 have been calculated using the software LEAP. The conclusion is that bioenergy, depending on how it is integrated in the energy system, may reduce greenhouse gas emissions between 0.6 ton CO2-equivalents and 1.4 ton CO2-equivalents per capita or 12% to 25% compared to 5.5 ton CO2-equivalents in the reference scenario 2050. The greatest reduction is obtained if biofuels are produced in combination with energy efficient heat requirements in buildings..

Title: Shop at us ? and we?ll carbon offset! ? How large and well-known companies affect consumers feelings towards their brand by using green marketing and CSR.Authors: Emilie Jäfvert & Carolin RuthbergAdvisor: Christine TidåsenLevel: Bachelor thesis in Marketing, (15 Swedish credits), Spring 2011Keywords: Green marketing, CSR and branding.Question: How do large and well known companies affect their customer?s view towards their brand by using green marketing and CSR?Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how high consumer?s value companies who works with green marketing and CSR, and also to find out how it affects the company brand.Method: We have chosen to do a qualitative research with a deductive approach. We have done five open interviews with companies and ten open interviews with consumers to conduct our research.Theoretical framework: Our theoretical framework includes four different areas; CSR- Corporate Social Responsibility, green marketing, brands and consumers. These sub-chapters include theories that will help the reader get a better understanding of the areas.Empirical studies: We have gathered empirical data by multiple open interviews. Two of the five interviews with the companies were face-to-face, two via email and one over the phone.

This essay discuss if Bronze Age cult houses were present at Gotland during the Bronze Age. Bronze Age cult houses are a well know phenomenon on mainland Sweden but because of inventory problems no Bronze Age cult houses have been found on Gotland. The main reason for the inventory problems are the Iron Age house foundations that are present in a large number on Gotland, the cult houses and the Iron Age houses have some design details that makes them difficult to separate from each other. In this essay a number of criteria are presented to help separate cult houses from the Iron Age house foundations. Three criteria?s regarding cult houses on Gotland is also presented in this essay.Two house foundations that PhD student Joakim Wehlin, University of Gothenburg and Gotland University, found in Vallstena parish, Gotland, are presented in this essay.

In order to avoid harmful substances ending up at the municipal sewage treatment plants, it is important to purify the wastewater at the source. One such source is the wheel washers available in many tire garages which are used to wash the wheels on our vehicles when we change between summer and winter tires. It is important to wash the wheels before storage, to extend the tires lifetime. The purpose of this study is to find a green innovative solution for reduction of emissions of heavy metals at the source, so that the sludge from the sewage treatment plants can be used as fertilizer. The target is to find a wheel wash method which leads to compliance with the guidelines for car washers, and that also provides a better washing result than with the existing method.

This report compares two different types of insulation with regards to fire and moisture. The materials were tested for the company Fiskarhedenvillan AB, for a wall and a roof construction that the company currently uses in the establishment of Sweden's first certified passive house for international standards.Their current material, Rockwool, is compared to a relatively new material on the Swedish market called SEALECTION Agribalance sold by the company ISO Green AB. The material is a type of polyurethane insulation. This insulation material would result in a more efficient execution of the construction as it provides waterproofing and is applied more easily than Rockwool. From a fire standpoint, literature studies and discussions with fire experts led to results.

To plan and build a garden in Dubai has other conditions and challenges than what you experience in Sweden. The heat, wind and lack of water makes the need for durable plants, a good design and landscaping important if you want to have the opportunity to use your garden during most of the year. The soil is poor of nutrients, alkaline and sometimes saline, witch makes supplying the soil with organic material and various fertilizers necessary if you want to be able to plant a bigger range of plant material in your garden. Another important part is to provide your garden with a good irrigation system that should be put into the ground before planting so that the plants are given a more even irrigation. It?s relatively green scenery you meet and to me it?s in a way surprising since the country with its climate is rather harsh for the purpose of supporting plant life.

In light of the massive property bubbles that have been bursting in the USA, Spain and Ireland during the last decade, the aim of this thesis is to clarify whether ? or to what degree - the municipality of Stockholm might experience a property bubble in the near future. The municipality of Stockholm is undergoing a housing shortage and house prices have risen during the last few years. Neoliberalism and property bubbles are used as a theoretical framework in this paper. The methodology consist of semi structured interviews, analysis of documents and statistical data from Eurostat, Valueguard and the Swedish administrative authority; Statistiska centralbyrån (SCB).

Climate change is expected to lead to increased rainfall and higher temperatures, among other things. This will have a major impact on our cities. Floods can lead to property damage as well as damages to human and animal health. Higher temperatures will increase the frequency of heat-related health risks and premature deaths. The consequences of climate change will be particularly large in our cities because of the city's morphology with a high amount of paved surfaces and buildings that affect the natural processes in areas such as drainage and absorption of solar radiation.

Green public procurement (GPP) can be used as an instrument to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and consideration of environmental aspects within public procurement is becoming more common in Sweden and internationally. Two product groups that have been pointed out as especially important are transports and electricity, where the opportunities for public purchasers to reduce emissions are relatively large. This paper studies GPP which aims at reducing emissions, primarily of carbon dioxide, through environmental requirements within these two product groups. A theoretical analysis of cost-effectiveness, transaction costs and effects on technological development is performed, followed by a closer study of how these aspects appear in practice within GPP. The results indicate that a cost-effective allocation of reductions between the two product groups is most likely to be attained if the main part of emission reduction is achieved through environmental requirements on electricity. The cost for emission reduction within transports is relatively high, especially for heavy transports. For transportation services, more generally focused requirements on emission reductions could probably give greater environmental gains, but the existence of transaction costs steer the environmental requirements towards more technology specific types.

European Union has made a new decision that all new built houses by 2020 shallbe near-zero energy houses. Boverket?s definition of near-zero energy housesintends buildings with good energy performance in which a proportion of theamount of energy that must be added to the building is made of renewable energy.Passive House is a set of requirements from FEBY designed to build energyefficient buildings. This is achieved by reducing loss of heat through the buildingenvelope and to take advantage of the passive heat from solar radiation,installation and heat sources like people living in the house.This project has been made with help of Anebyhus and one of their model houseshave been examined from the report?s issues, including Anebyhus?s energyperformance, requirements for the manufacturing and assembly, how theenvelope must be improved to fulfill the requirements for the Passive House andwhat energy calculation programs are available on the market.The report aims to provide solutions for energy efficient houses that are adaptedfor production of house building.Two visits to Anebyhus has been done to study their manufacture and assemblyof building elements.

The visions of the United Nations concerning sustainable development and conservation of biodiversity can only be realized if the human population succeeds in creating coexistence between human and wildlife. Landscape architects are able to influence on how landscapes are to be maintained and developed. The negative impact of infrastructure on wildlife has become a critical problem in Sweden and other parts of Europe. Wildlife crossings has been developed as a solution for the problems of road barriers in the landscape. The crossings are made to give animals a better opportunity to cross roads.

Energy consumption is at present a major political issue, and numerous projects that comprise many nations are currently in process to increase energy efficiency and bring down energy dependency. As a member state of the EU, Sweden now faces the challenge of implementing substantial energy-saving measures until the year 2016. One of these measures is the project ?Green Islands? financed by the EU that intend on creating sustainable islands in areas around the Baltic Sea. The Archipelago Foundation leads the project that concerns the Stockholm archipelago, where focus has been placed upon decreasing energy usage in businesses and services on Utö among other islands.

This bachelor essay is divided into two parts, the first being a construction of a single-familyhouse and the second an in-depth study of five different isolation materials, analysed from anenergy perspective.The first part, the construction of the single-family house, has been created from knowledgeacquired during three years of studying at KTH Royal institute of Technology in Stockholm, inthe program Architecture and the Built Environment. The constructed house is a one-floorhouse of 137m2with façade plaster, situated in Borlänge, Sweden. The house has a wooden framewhich is built on a on sight cast concrete foundation, on the ground. The house?s roof is a gableroof, which has an angle of 24 degrees.

Organic agriculture is financially promoted in Sweden by special environmental support and as consumers we are all encouraged to buy organic food. At the same time scholars at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences claim that organic farming does not provide any environmental benefits. The main criticism is that organic farming has lower yields than conventional, which means that more land is needed to produce the same amount of food as in conventional farming, leading to deforestation and loss of biodiversity. As for climate change, the critics claim that the significantly higher productivity in conventional crop production compared to organic, releases surplus land, which could be used for bio-fuel production and thereby replace the fossil fuels. The critics also claim that organic farming causes higher nutrient leaching than conventional.